SECOND SUNDAY OF LENT
Rev. Tom Cundiff
Luke 13: 31-35
Philippians 3: 17- 4:1
Luke 13:
31-35
The Lament over Jerusalem
31 At that very hour some Pharisees came and
said to him, “Get away from here, for Herod wants to kill you.” 32 He said to
them, “Go and tell that fox for me, ‘Listen, I am casting out demons and
performing cures today and tomorrow, and on the third day I finish my work. 33
Yet today, tomorrow, and the next day I must be on my way, because it is
impossible for a prophet to be killed outside of Jerusalem Jerusalem Jerusalem
Philippians
3: 17 - 4:1
17 Brothers and sisters,
join in imitating (become co-imitators
with*) me, and observe those who live according to the example you have
in us. 18For many live as enemies of the cross of Christ; I have
often told you of them, and now I tell you even with tears. 19Their
end is destruction; their god is the belly; and their glory is in their shame;
their minds are set on earthly things. 20But our citizenship
is in heaven, and it is from there that we are expecting a Savior, the Lord
Jesus Christ. 21He will transform the body of our humiliation
so that it may be conformed to the body of his glory,
by the power that also enables him to make all things subject to himself. 41Therefore,
my brothers and sisters, whom I love and long for,
my joy and crown, stand firm in the Lord in this way, my beloved.
*possible
translaton.
I.
In last Sunday’s sermon I spent some time
talking about the maintenance of the church organ and how we too, during Lent, need
to maintain our lives in keeping our lives in tune with God.
There is something else in this sanctuary that
requires regular and ongoing maintenance.
I am talking about ---
The Cross
Look at the cross for a couple of moments! At first glance it appears it needs very little
maintenance—maybe some dusting the next time someone is up there. J
The cross has a prominent place before us in worship. While it doesn’t have any moving parts that
can break down requiring maintenance, let’s not be fooled. The
cross probably needs more maintenance than anything else in this sanctuary!
Consider this:
Everything that has ever been given to this church since our founding in
1967 has been dedicated to the glory of God in the name of Jesus Christ who
lived and then suffered and died on the cross.
All the sweat and tears that built this church in maintaining worship
with ministries in tune with God all these years has been done from “Beneath that cross of Jesus”. Every single dime in our church budget helps maintaining
all the cross represents. All that we believe
and all that we do is in the name of Jesus Christ reaches down to us from that
Cross to fill us with God’s Spirit!
Think about it:
Jesus dedicated his life ending in his suffering and death on the cross
so we can be here today! He took our
sins with him to the cross. We owe
everything we have to God who gave us his only begotten son who loved us so
that we may never perish but have eternal life.
Truly,
the cross requires significant maintenance in our giving our lives to the one
who died for our sins sealing God’s promise to us of eternal life.
II.
Paul today is writing from prison to his friends
in Philippi because they are not living up to expectations
he has for them in carrying the cross with them into every situation each and
every day. Paul writes to them to challenge
them to renew their commitment to be ambassadors for Christ, co-imitators with
him in preaching and teaching and sharing the gospel of Jesus Christ with
others. This sounds to me like a challenge
for us during this season of Lent!
The challenge Paul gives us? The best way we have to maintain the cross of
Jesus in our lives is to dedicate our lives, to the best of our ability, in imitating
along with Paul all within us that can reflect God;s love that comes down from
the cross that touches us, our families and friends and church today.
In borrowing from the imagery of the first hymn
we sang today:
From “Beneath the Cross of Jesus” we do a pretty descent job of imitating
along with Paul our serving the needs of the community – especially the
children. We have not taken Christ’s
cross to become a church in another part of the city. At night, when the flood lights shine through
those three large windows, the whole neighborhood can see that cross – we are
here to maintain a relationship with this neighborhood.
I dare say – with just a hint in sinfully boasting
– we do a pretty good job in loving and serving God from “Beneath that Cross of Jesus”!
But herein rests the problem that Paul may have
with us. Just like his friends in Philippi : Are
we doing all we can and should be doing?
Digging Deeper I go back to these words found
earlier in Chapter 3 of Philippians – scripture that preachers rarely want to
read or preach:
“Beware of the dogs,
beware of the evil workers, beware of those who mutilate the flesh! For it is we who are the circumcision, who
worship in the Spirit of god, and boast in Christ and have no confidence in the
flesh—even though I too have reason for confidence in the flesh.” Philippians 3: 1-3
Who is Paul calling “dogs” or “evil workers”? He’s not talking about the unbelievers. He’s not pouncing on the impoverished with
these harsh words. He is talking to
those whom he says in this scripture have been circumcised. In other words he is talking to believers –
the inner circle of disciples who have become complacent – even to the point of
turning their backs on their beliefs because it is more comfortable to do so.
So could it be that Paul is talking to us? How often do we find ourselves saying we will
be faithful to our Lord and then turn away from neighbors in need? When we say things are going well with us in
our discipleship and in our church – where and in what ways have we fallen
short of God’s calling?
Have we become too comfortable in our worship
and work requiring Paul’s writing to us today charging us to again become
co-imitators with him in serving our Lord?
Paul says clearly to us today: “stand firm” as co-imitators in emulating
Christ “whose citizenship is in heaven”. Our true citizenship is to be found not in
this world but in heaven? That’s the way
of the cross!
In speaking of things we tend to avoid or
neglect because it’s not comfortable to do so:
EVANGELISM or to put this another
way: SHARING THE GOOD NEWS OF THE GOSPEL
WITH OTHERS!
Just
wondering: If I were to ask the Session when they meet after worship to form a new
team with the sole responsibility of finding and nurturing new members? Who among us would volunteer to be on this
team? What would it take to bring a
half-dozen new members into our fellowship between now and the end of the year?
What would Paul say to us? I’m pretty sure he wouldn’t want to hear all
the reasons why we think this may not be possible!!! --- most
of my friends already have a church, or what I hear from our West-Side
members: people don’t like to come to
this location. The fact is: There are a lot of people in this community
who don’t have or feel they want a church affiliation!
In sharing the gospel of Jesus Christ with
others, how often have we been intentional in extending an invitation to a
friend or neighbor to come join with us in worship?
This idea of forming an Evangelism Committee is an
illustration of what I mean in leaving our comfort zones to live out the gospel
of Jesus Christ and his Great Commission as found in Matthew 28:
Go therefore and make disciples….
IV.
Final point: Let’s not be
too hard on ourselves. We see a lot of needs
and suffering and we do respond to the best of our ability as a small
congregation in using this large building for several programs in a part of
town where it is a challenge to be doing OVERT EVANGELISM. Our way
of sharing the gospel with others is in opening our building so children, in
particular, have a safe place to come to study and play and be safe. This is also our gospel mandate, in caring for
the children around us.
Let’s hear this point: Let’s
take home with us the message from Paul to be co-imitators for Christ in
whatever ways we believe this to mean. Let’s accept the Lenten challenge to find ways to imitate
Christ in doing things that are visible;
things that truly make a difference in the lives of others. Let’s do some soul searching in
evaluating where we are in our relationship with Christ.
The task before us is clear.
Maintaining the cross! Keeping our
lives in tune (or in tune as we can be) with God. In joining with Paul in doing Christ’s work in
the community.
As co-imitators with Paul for the cause of spreading the gospel of
Jesus Christ, let’s move forward in finding ways to live with a closer
relationship with our Lord and savior Jesus Christ.
Amen
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